Location: Central PA. Surrounded by the best trout water in the entire country.

Posts: 42

Rio Switch Chucker Impressions

I haven't read many firsthand reports of the new Chucker, so i thought i'd give you my $ .02. I purchased the 7 wt 465 gr. for my Sage One 11'6". What drew my attention to the Chucker was Rio stating that it was a better dual purpose line than anything out there. This i totally agree with. Compared to Rio's regular switch line, this line turned over everything i threw at it: double weighted nymph setup, double weighted nymph w/ shot and indicator, 10' T-11 w/ 5-6" articulated streamers, NO PROBLEM. I fish the standard Rio Switch on my Beulah Platinum 10'4" 6 wt w/ 5/6 430 gr. it does a fine job at nymphing , but it has never impressed me at turning over a lot of junk. Don't get me wrong, it will do it but it really starts to labor. The new Chucker makes life easier all the way around. I know, I know, i should carry one spool for nymphing, one for swinging. Why when i can get it done with one line? The only downfall of the Chucker that i have found is due to the weight of the head if you are nymphing, if you don't have a few feet out the tip it will suck your leader back in. Not a deal breaker to me as i prefer not to stand on the Steelies foreheads anyway. So if you are searching for the "Holy Grail" one line to do it all, This is the best i have found so far IMHO. Tight Lines, Jeff.

Great fishermen think alike indeed, and this review couldn't have come in a better timing.

The next question after the switch rod purchase is the line purchase. I've been searching the web about this line and all I've got was the review by George Cook on youtube.

Jeff, do you think this line would be good for the beulah classic 5/6? I am going to use it 75% for switch/spey cast for streamers and bass bugs. Other than this line I am looking to get Beulah line the Elixir or the Tonic. I am currently using Airflo Polyleaders for my single hand and planning to use them for the switch.

Welcome to the forum. Posts from new members 'like this one' are very exciting to see here. So many folks choose to lurk in the shadows and not to post. It's refreshing to see a new guy who feels there is something to share here. Good post,

Location: Central PA. Surrounded by the best trout water in the entire country.

Posts: 42

Re: Rio Switch Chucker Impressions

Runningfish, i think you will be happy with the Chucker for swinging. You may want to go with heavier sink tips depending on the size of the bugs you're tossing. I looked at the Tonic but i felt the Chucker would suit my needs better switching between nymphing and swinging. This line impressed me enough in the last few weeks that i'm going to put it on my Beulah Plat 6 wt. Thanks everyone for the warm welcome. Tight lines, Jeff.

I am glad that Ben brought this thread up again 'coz I am too lazy to look for it.

I just ordered the Chucker #6 for my Beulah classic 5/6 online and it will be my first ever switch rod line. I hope it'll get here before next weekend so that I can test it side by side with the Rio Outbound 8 that I am currently using.

That's a great review of this line, thanks for putting it together. I'm not sure how I'd missed it before today

I fished that line last weekend and would say your assessment is pretty much spot on between this and Rio's Switch line. If you're running indicators and nymphs and NOT swinging, it's a great line, whereas the Chucker was very capable at both. Although in my opinion, a little more at home set up as a swinging rig. The Chucker seems to have a profile more similar to Airflo's Rage Compact than the Skagit Switch, both of which I have set up on an 8119. I used the Rage Compact to swing and nymph with indicators and plenty of lead pretty successfully, though the splashdown was less than ideal at times. The quick remedy was a longer leader or poly leader.

Back on point, Chucker is really a sweet line as far as switch rods go that I think provides greater versatility to swing and nymph with if you're after a line with integrated running line as opposed to using running line and heads.

Ben,

To address your question as to A or B, your previous experience with single hands does come into play but...how comfortable are you single hand spey casting or using 2 hands to cast? I wasn't all that comfortable or experienced 2 handed casting when I chose my line and went with the B recommendation so that the rod loaded a little easier. Now that I have a little more time under my belt with it, I'd opt for the A recommendation. Don't get me wrong, it still performs just fine as is, but I can now tell it feels like it's being a little more overloaded than I'd like. I'll keep fishing it until it's time to replace it. That said, rods can be touchy and you might find that on the Dually, the A recommendation is where it's at. 520 Grains seems like a bit of overload to me, just my opinion.

Do you plan to do more indicator nymph/egging and less swinging or more swinging than nymph/egging?

I bought the B Chucker 6wt, the A would be the 5wt. Rio stated it was good for the beginner and I am one.

I do understand that switch/spey lines have more grains per ft than the regular 1 single hand line. However, what about the thickness of the head? In this case, is the 6wt Chucker will have the same head thickness as an 8wt single hand line or is it about the same as the 6wt single hand line but just more dense?

Location: Central PA. Surrounded by the best trout water in the entire country.

Posts: 42

Re: Rio Switch Chucker Impressions

Jaybo, I'm with you, the Chucker is definitely geared more towards swinging. The strait switch is better at nymphing, but I think the Chucker is the more versatile of the two. I've ran both 5 & 10' of t-11up on the tribs and it really sings with the 10 footer.
Ben, i think that you would be pretty safe with the 7 wt 465 gr. for the Dually. You won't have any problem feeling it load, plus your not maxing out your window. Practice makes perfect, or in my case just good enough to catch fish! Tight lines, Jeff.